Anomy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A societal condition defined by the absence of social norms, which leads to confusion and instability in community structures
2. A state reflecting the erosion of accepted values that results in disorientation and a lack of direction among individuals
3. A situation characterized by the breakdown of societal norms, leading to feelings of confusion and a sense of instability within a community's framework

Etymology: Ancient Greek had "anomía," meaning lawlessness, built from "ánomos" (lawless), which combines the negating prefix "a-" ("not") with "nómos" (law). The Greek word had a long life before it reached modern French, and it was French that carried it into the vocabulary of social science. The modern sense owes most to the French sociologist Émile Durkheim, who popularized "anomie" to describe a condition in which a society's shared rules lose their hold on people. When norms that once guided behaviour break down, individuals are left without clear expectations about what is acceptable, and Durkheim argued this could produce confusion, restlessness and even self-destruction. Because the word arrived in English from French, it keeps the stress and spelling of its source, and "anomy" is a variant spelling of the same term. Its meaning has stayed close to Durkheim's sense of a society without effective shared standards.

Synonyms: normlessness, lawlessness

Antonyms: order, conformity